Loving the Nurse by Piper Sullivan
Gus
Good God but the man was a scrumptious treat.
That was my one pervasive thought as I enjoyed my break from the pediatrics unit by catching up on my favorite food vlogger. He made some type of Asian style fish with soy sauce and lemons, and handmade noodles, and the whole image of him holding the bowl with one hand, chopsticks in the other, I didn’t know which looked better.
The man or the food.
Too bad in real life, Antonio Ricci was everything a sensible woman wouldn’t want in a man. Oh, he was wonderful with his daughter Rosie, who was the very definition of adorable, but he as also the walking, talking embodiment of a bad boy. A heartbreaker. Even while doing something as utterly domestic as making a meal, he looked like he just walked out of some woman’s bedroom and straight into his kitchen. His hair was always mussed like a woman had run her fingers through it in the throes of ecstasy, his arms were heavily muscled and full of colorful tattoos, the black t-shirts he favored clung to his arms and shoulders like a lover reluctant to let him go, and sweet lord in heaven, that sexy smirk he always flashed at the camera was enough to dampen a girl’s panties.
Including mine.
I was sure, despite having no evidence, that there was a string of broken hearts in his wake. Around Jackson’s Ridge, he was the favored son who’d done well and returned home for the sake of his daughter. The good guy, the chef everyone loved. But that was a façade. It had to be right? No man that gorgeous and that talented was as good as the town thought he was.
Not that it mattered to me because I just liked to look at Antonio while he taught me how to cook delicious meals from around the world.
End of story.
The door to the break room squeaked and I felt myself tense, because it was either someone who would want to talk, or worse, I was being called back to work seven minutes into my break. Melanie Gibson, head nurse for Jackson’s Ridge Medical Center, peeked her head in with a smile and the most knowing set of blue eyes in all of Oregon.
“There you are, Gus,” she trilled as if she didn’t know exactly where I was at all times when I was on the premises. “You’re needed in exam room four.”
We were in the business of helping people, and that came first. Above meals and bathroom breaks, breakdowns, personal drama and pretty much everything else. Still, a girl had to protect her mental health, didn’t she?
“My break just started. Where’s Sally?”
Melanie pushed the door open and fisted her hands at her hips, just in case there was any confusion over how she felt about my answer. She stared me down until I felt myself start to shrink. Too bad it wasn’t my ass or my hips or my belly shrinking, or else I might not have cared.
“You have a patient Gus.”
I took one last look at Antonio’s charming smirk and groaned. Melanie was right, of course, and I loved my job as a pediatric nurse. It was my job to make the little ones comfortable and confident during what could be a scary time for them. I loved their wide-eyed wonder when they felt better, when they realized a treatment was working, and most of all, when they got a cast put on for the first time. It was adorable and heartwarming, making my days at work more rewarding than I’d ever imagined.
“All right, all right,” I slipped my phone into the pocket of my pink and purple scrubs, mismatched thanks to an eight year old who got into his daddy’s beer. “I’m on my way to exam room four.”
Melanie flashed a satisfied smile. “Excellent. Thank you, Gus.”
I took a few minutes to wash my hands and rinse my mouth before making my way to the exam room which was reserved for patients without an appointment and who didn’t require emergency services. I sucked in a deep breath and pasted on a smile as I reached for the chart and stepped inside the room. It was important to keep things positive with pediatric patients—and their parents—because the former listened better and the latter panicked less.
I blinked and opened my mouth to start my usual spiel, but my mouth wouldn’t work because it had gone instantly dry at the sight of Antonio lounging in the blue plastic chair. Even though there was very little variety in his wardrobe—black, white or gray t-shirts, jeans always, and boots or sneakers depending on the day—he was always breathtaking. Especially up close. I gave myself a mental chastising and relaxed my shoulders as I focused on the chart until I felt normal again.
“Mr. Ricci and Little Ms. Ricci, hi. What brings you in today?” There, that sounded normal. Totally normal.
Antonio flashed a sexy grin and sat forward to lean his elbows on his knees. “Just a check up to make sure the treatments are working.”
Yes, multiple treatments because little Rosie had an awful case of chronic severe asthma. They’d tried everything to get her attacks under control and it seemed over the past six months or so, something had worked. I nodded and turned my attention to Rosie.
“How have you been feeling lately?”
Rosie sat a little taller, clearly feeling like a big girl as she straightened her orange and blue jeweled crown with a shy smile. The little girl opened her mouth to answer, when a deeper voice intruded. “She’s had a bit of a chest rattle, but only after she’s been running around.”
I turned with a glare for the handsome chef. “It’s not your turn, Dad. First let Rosie tell me in her own words how she feels.” His nostrils flared at the challenge in my tone, and I arched my brows daring him to argue with me before I turned my attention back to Rosie. “Well, how have you been feeling?”
Rosie nodded and her big brown eyes focused on me, serious and thoughtful. “Sometimes it’s hard to breath when I play tag or kickball, but I’m fine when I play princess. Do you like princesses?”
I smiled at the question. It was no secret how much little Rosie loved princesses. “What’s not to like? Beautiful dresses, gorgeous jewels and parties all the time. Sounds like a pretty ideal life to me.” Especially compared to the childhood I’d actually had.
“Yeah,” she sighed wistfully.
The heat of Antonio’s gaze on the side of my face was distracting as hell, and I knew I had to get the appointment back on track. “What about when you’re sleeping, Rosie, do you ever wake up out of breath?”
She snuck a glance at her father and then back to me with a nod. “Sometimes. It’s scary at first, but then it goes away fast.”
“Are you having bad dreams or exciting dreams?”
Antonio sat up straight, as eager for the answer as I was. A slow grin bloomed across Rosie’s pale face. “Exciting!” She leaned forward as if she was sharing a secret. “Sometimes I ride dragons or fight giants, and one time I rode a whale to rescue the king!”
My eyes went wide at the tomboy princess before me. She had an active imagination that probably developed from all the time spent inside the walls of hospitals and doctor’s offices. “Well that explains it. Those exciting dreams of yours are no different from running and playing outside, so maybe try to dream about going for long walks around the castle grounds before bed, and leave the dragon rides for the daytime when someone can keep an eye on you, yeah?”
She let out a huff of disappointment and nodded. “Okay. I will. Promise.”
“I’ll hold you to that promise,” I told her and busied myself with checking her vitals and listening to her breathing.
“Do you hear the rattle? It’s slight, but it’s there.” Antonio’s question came from right next to my ear, and a second later I felt the heat of his body against my back. The scent of garlic and spices wafted to my nose, and I turned to glare at him.
“Can’t hear anything with you growling in my ear.”
He smiled and took a step back, not looking even a little bit sorry for invading my space. “I don’t growl, that’s just what my voice sounds like.”
I documented Rosie’s vitals, and straightened to standing. “Everything looks good, Rosie. I’ll let the doctor know that you’re ready for him.” I tried for a smile, but it faltered under the weight of Antonio’s glare. “Take care, Rosie.”
“You too, Nurse Gus!” she gave an energetic wave that only little kids could manage which I returned, and then I got the hell out of the exam room before I said something I might have to apologize for later.
Out in the hall, I let out a deep breath and turned to return the chart to the holder mounted on the wall. I felt Antonio behind me and I let out another deep breath, prepared for whatever perceived infraction I committed this time. Parents were the worst part of pediatrics.
“What can I do for you, Mr. Ricci?”
He blinked in surprise, but it didn’t stop the way his nostrils flared or the anger burning in his eyes. “Look, Nurse Thompson, I don’t appreciate-,”
“The name is Gus or August.” I cut him off just to, I don’t know, piss him off further or cool his anger.
Antonio mentally stumbled at the interruption and raked a hand through his already mussed hair to gather his thoughts again. Sometimes I watched him do that and wondered if he did it just to increase his sex appeal for his videos.
“Fine, Augusta. I don’t appreciate you cutting me off when I’m telling you what’s wrong with my kid.”
I nodded, because I understood where he was coming from, but I didn’t back down when it came to my patients. Ever. “Noted. I don’t appreciate you butting in when I’m asking the patient a question about their health.”
His brown eyes widened in shock, maybe it was outrage. “Patient? She’s five, what the hell does she know about her health?”
Typical parent. “Did you know she woke up with breathing difficulties sometimes?” The look of helplessness on his face told me he hadn’t known. “Right. She’s five today, but one day soon she’ll be twelve and then fifteen and twenty-three, and she will need to know how to manage her sickness for herself. She needs to know how to identify when something is wrong or when she’s fine. This is her illness,” my voice softened with understanding because I really did understand where he was coming from, “even though it doesn’t feel like it, Mr. Ricci. It’s never too early to start giving Rosie some autonomy over her condition.” I let out a slow breath and arched a brow at him. Parents always had more to say and they always had to have the final word, and I was happy to let them vent when it was appropriate. “Anything else?”
Antonio surprised me when he shook his head and took a step back.
I took advantage of regaining the ability to breath again and walked away, hoping like hell he wasn’t staring at the purple scrub pants I wore that were a little too snug in the thighs.
